Sonny Rollins

Music represents nature. Nature represents life. Jazz represents nature. Jazz is life.

One very important thing I learned from Monk was his complete dedication to music. That was his reason for being alive. Nothing else mattered except music, really.

Jazz is the type of music that can absorb so many things and still be Jazz.

Even if you have some brilliant jazz ideas, it’s going to be difficult to get them across unless you have 1-a distinctive sound or 2- a loud sound. These are musts.

No one is original. Everyone is derivative.

One very important thing I learned from Monk was his complete dedication to music.

Jazz is the big brother of the blues. If a guy’s playing blues like we play, he’s in high school. When he starts playing jazz it’s like going on to college, to a school of higher learning.

Working with Benny was important for me and for black musicians in general.

Music must be an innovation.

When you listen to someone improvise, the notes that are played are only half the story.

Invest yourself in everything you do. There’s fun in being serious.

Music used to be essential and meaningful, but now it’s disposable.

Of course there are a lot of ways you can treat the blues, but it will still be the blues.

Music is a verb.

I’m no good with chords. I’m horrible with chords.

Everybody did something. It was very entertaining. We had a lot of fun. Lot of fun. And there was no segregation, that I could see. I never saw any.

There’s only one thing that everyone in this world has in common: whether you want to love somebody and you want to be loved in return.

I was a singing disc jockey who heard every type of music there was – and loved it all.

[moving to Las Vegas] It was sort of like a man getting married – you don’t have to go out looking for girls, you’ve got your girl with you. I could go to casinos any time I had money and wanted to, so I actually went less.

I think that what is important is that the music be honest and direct and that it is relevant to today.

I’d take my guitar and play on the streets. A gospel song would get me a pat on the head. But a blues would get me a dime. So you see why I stuck with the blues.